Black Eyed Peas rapper will.i.am has backed Lewis Hamilton to win an eighth world championship, claiming in his own unique way that the Brit can come back and beat Max Verstappen.
Hamilton hasn't won as much as a race in the last two seasons, with team-mate George Russell taking Mercedes' most recent victory (in 2022).
The Mercedes man has suffered two seasons in an underperforming car, but has recently signed a contract to keep him with the Brackley-based team for at least two more seasons.
This gives him a couple more years to try and claim a record-breaking eighth world championship title, and become the most successful driver in F1 history.
Lewis Hamilton is a seven-time Formula 1 world championLewis Hamilton has not won a race since the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand PrixMax Verstappen has won three world championships since Lewis Hamilton last won a race
Hamilton's Abu Dhabi heartbreak
The closest Hamilton has come to that eighth title so far was in 2021, when Verstappen pipped him to the championship in the controversial season-ending Abu Dhabi GP.
Now, will.i.am has backed his friend to put that behind him and prove the doubters wrong.
"Right, so, anybody will struggle with something being snatched and it's just a matter of time for him to wait, he just has to figure it out once and history's made," he told F1 Briefings.
"They say just let the master do what he's really good at. He's figured it out a bunch of times, and this one time is gonna be history. Historical. And it's historical for him. First, all the folks that have been inspired by him, the flock, the school, the herd, that's going to come after him.
"It's going to be historical for the sport. It's going to be historical for Mercedes. And all it is, is him figuring how to figure it out once and I think he's going to do that. And then the person that comes after him, it's gonna be some years for that record to be broken. And he will hold that forever.
"There's this one quote, somebody does a math, there's eight mathematical questions, they get one through nine, right? They get one wrong. Everybody laughs and makes fun of that one they got wrong and never rewards or applaud or salute them on the nine they got right. Eventually they're going to get 10, right? Meanwhile, everyone's afraid to even take a freaking test.”
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